Inside the Black Castle, down in the dungeons, the jailer came running. His face was red with exertion and he couldn’t keep his huge hands still.

‘Glyndŵr!’ he yelled, waving through the bars. ‘You’re saved! An Owen came. The pledge was answered!’

James felt a surge of joy.

‘And the most incredible thing!’ continued the jailer, his voice rising ever higher. ‘A girl it was! A longbow girl!’

There was a curse of amazement, a laugh of disbelief and a shout of triumph.

‘Tell me. Tell me everything!’ roared the longbowman.

In wonderfully exhaustive detail, Aeron the jailer told his tale, a tale he would repeat many times in the decades to come, but no retelling would ever compare with this first rendition to the man who thought he had lost everything.

In his cell, gripping the bars, peering out as far as he could see, James listened.

‘Duw,’ Longbowman Owen said at the end, after peppering Aeron with at least a dozen questions. ‘Who is she, this longbow girl?’

‘That’s what we all want to know, isn’t it?’ agreed Aeron.

Silent in his cell, James just smiled.